Monday, November 21, 2011
Review: Tangled Tides
Age Group:Young Adult
Published: November 25, 2011 by Rhemalda
Format: eARC, 328 pgs
Source: For Review
2011 Debut Author Challenge
Description:
Yara Jones doesn’t believe in sea monsters—until she becomes one.
When a hurricane hits her island home and she wakes up with fins, Yara finds herself tangled up in an underwater world of mysterious merfolk and secretive selkies. Both sides believe Yara can save them by fulfilling a broken promise and opening the sealed gateway to their realm, but they are battling over how it should be done. The selkies want to take her life. The merfolk want something far more precious.
Treygan, the stormy-eyed merman who turned Yara mer, will stop at nothing and sacrifice everything to protect his people—until he falls for Yara. The tides turn as Yara fights to save herself, hundreds of sea creatures, and the merman who has her heart. She could lose her soul in the process—or she might open the gateway to a love that’s deeper than the oceans.
Young Adult fans of Mermaids, Selkies, Sirens and Gorgons will love this tale of the sacrifice one makes for genuine love. Love that could be lost at any moment to the ever-changing tides.
Mini-Review: A hurricane of emotions and mythical creatures with star-crossed lovers who refuse to give up on each other, on love, and on hope for a better future. Mermaids and selkies and sirens, OH MY!
My Thoughts:
Note: As a blogger, I have come to know quite a few writers online, both published and aspiring authors; Karen Amanda Hooper is one of them. She is an awesome person and I'm happy to have stumbled upon her blog when I was first starting out, not only because she is such a cool person (she really is) but because it gave me the opportunity to learn about her work. So I was more than happy to add my list to the names of potential reviewers when Rhemalda took on Tangled Tides, and I was thrilled when they sent me a copy of the eARC. My feelings for the author aside, I really enjoyed this book.
Now then, when I started the book, I will admit that it took me a few pages to really settle into Yara's perspective. It wasn't the writing or that she isn't easy to relate to (because she is), I just needed to settle into the story and to accept the way Yara sees the world and people around her. Hooper throws you into the action immediately -- there's no waiting around -- and then things are happening non-stop.
The characters are easy to relate to and, personally, I found myself rooting for everyone. What can I say? I didn't want anyone to get hurt. Obviously there has to be some pain involved, but I won't spoil that for you lovely readers; though, I will admit that I was so invested in everyone by the end that there were tears.
The world building is fantastic, and I am so incredibly intrigued by the process of changing forms and also happy that Hooper actually explains it rather than just glossing over it all. And the writing! Dual POV is hard enough to pull off, but Hooper tackles three (THREE!), and it never gets confusing. I loved seeing things from multiple points of view, especially considering the opposition between them all. It was very well done and definitely added more to the story.
Tangled Tides is a fantastic tale of tormented sea creatures, hope, and love, and I can't wait to see what else Hooper dreams up. And check back Friday for a more in-depth look at the different sea creatures in the book as well as some information on how you can win your very own copy!
Visit the author online.
Buy the book: Amazon | B&N | Rhemalda
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
LinkWithin
3 comments:
Great review! I agree with everything you said!
Thanks! But I think you're a little biased. :P
By the way, I loved the artwork on the inside for all the different creatures!
I love that you were rooting for everyone! :)
You're way more awesomer than I am!
(Yes, I know that's not proper grammar, but it's true, so it's allowed.)
Alexandra's artwork is UH-MAZING, isn't it? I'm so lucky to have her as a friend.
I'm so glad you enjoyed TT. Thanks so much for taking the time to review it.
*hugs*
Post a Comment